Cleaning castings and making granulated abrasives



H. R. CULP cmmmm cAs'rInes .um luxfue V'muummrlsljmalmsrvss y Fixed.' umn 29. 1922 fryventor;

Patented Mu. 31, 1925.

HERBERT RAYMOND CULP, F READING, PmWNSYLVAN CLEANING CASTINGS AND MAKING GRAN ULATED ABRASIVES.

Application med march-29, 1922. serial No. 547,836.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it'known that I, HERBERT RAYMOND CULT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Reading, in the county of Berks and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cleaning Castings and Making Granulated Abrasives, of which the following is a specification.

dem the by attrition 'while Reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, and the reference characters marked thereonwl1`ich form a part of this specification.

The principal object of the invention is to simultaneously clean castings and make a granulated abrasive.

Other objects will appear in connection with the following description.

The single figure of the drawings is a View in cross-section of an ordinary tumbling barrel containing castings, and slag in fragmentary form more or less reduced to granular form, as in the operation of tumbling the castings in accordance with my invention.

Slag resulting from the melting of iron in founding is made up of mixed silicates mechanically associated with metallic iron in bodies ofvarious dimensions and shapes.

The castings resulting from the founding of the iron, whenremoved from the molds are more or less rough, and have adherent to them scale and sand. Such castings y are commonly finished by tumbling them in barrels in contact with coke, or with pieces of hard iron of irregular form such as jack stars, whereby the scale and sand are removed from the castings and the surfaces of the castings are more or less cleaned or polished.

Such castings are also sometimes finished by subjecting them to a sand-blast which is.

an expensive method.

I have ascertained that slag in :fragmentary form has many advantages as an abrasive, and that in granulated form it makes a highly desirable substitute for sand. in the sand-blasting process.

In carrying out my invention, I placethe castings in the tumbler-barrel in contact with slag. which results from the melting off the iron in the founding process, after. the

sla has been cooled and more or less broken' up y means of a Sledge or the like.

I then proceed `with the tumbling operation in the usual manner with the result that the broken pieces of the slag enga e and tie slag duced to granular form.

As the slag is thus broken up by the tumbling process, the bodies of free iron are'released from their mechanical association with the slag; and if the tumbling process be continued for a suHcient length of time, the slag will be reduced to granular form, and the castings will be cleaned and finished by their repeated contact with the fragments of slag and the bodies of free iron associated with or freed from the slag.

When the slag has thus been reduced to granular form, it is removed from the tumbling-barrel and the free iron is removed by screening out the larger particles of iron,

and by the use of magnetic separators or by any other known process.

The granulated material which remains after the oversize material has been removed may be used or`a'ny purpose for which granulated abrasive is used, and is particulai-ly adapted for use in sand-blasting; and this granulated material may beso used Veven though it contains free iron in granular form.

As above explained, however, the free iron may be entirely removed if desired, leaving only the granulated silicates for use as an abrasive. f

- By using the slag in the tumbling barrel to clean the castings, I am able without eX- pense' to reduce the slag to such form that the iron can be readily recovered therefrom, thus avoiding the employment of the eX- pensive methods which it has been heretofore necessary to employ to recover the iron from slag.

' My invention also produces a valuable itself is gradually disintegrated and re-l abrasive product from what has heretoforeV been discarded as waste. The granular material produced 111 ac.

cordance with my invention can be used formay be screened ont after the oversize mafterial has been screened out, and the residue cit' the slag may then be used for packing 1n the annealing of castings.

I have described my invention with reference to slag and castings .produced -by iron-founding, but it may be employedlwith respect to slag and castings resulting from the' founding of various metals.

In the single figure of the drawing I have by Letters Patent isl0 1. The method which comprises, tumbling castings prior to their being put to their normal commercial use, in Contact with fragments of slag containing bodies of metallic iron, whereby fragments of slag are. broken up and bodies of metallic iron are released from the slag and whereby the eastyings are freed from adherent scale, sandy.

etc.' f

2. T he method which comprises, tumbling castings prior to their being put to their norma commercial use, in Contact with fragments of slag Containing bodies of metallic iron, whereby fragments of slag are broken up and bodies of metallic iron are released from the slag and whereby the castings are freed from adherent scale, sand, etc., and whereby some o-f the slag is reduced to granulated slag, and freeing the granulated slag from the oversize material.

Themethod which comprises, tumbling castings prior to their being put to their normal commercial use, in contact with fragments of slag containing bodies of metallic iron, whereby fragments of slag are broken up and bodies of metallic iron are released from the 'slag and whereby the castings are freed from adherent scale, sand, etc., and separating the bodies ot metallic iron by themselves. j

4. The method which comprises,'tumbling castings prior to their being put to their normal commercial use; in contact with fragments of slag containing bodies of metallic iron, whereby fragments of slag are broken up and bodies of metallic iron are released from the slag and whereby the castings are freed from adherent scale, sand, etc.,

and whereby some of the slag is reduced to granulated slag, separating the bodies of metallic iron by' themselves, and freeing the f granulated slag from the oversize material.

ln testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of March, 1922.

HERBERT RAYMOND CULP. 

